A prior art device is disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. issued Oct. 6, 1987 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,815 to one McKenna for a DART. That particular patent describes a tapered point which is seized, in its forward and extended position, by a collar which has a thread to matingly thread into a threaded portion in a cylindrical-like cavity defined by the dart body. The machining of the threaded collar and female mating thread in the body is expensive; furthermore, the construction of a fully tapered point, with the butt end, is also expensive. Another dart with retractable point is disclosed by Bottlesen in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,322 issued Oct. 28, 1980.
It is an object of the invention to eliminate such threads and as substitution to provide a split sleeve in frictional engagement with a step bore defined by the dart body as means for retaining the point in the dart body, during flight, while allowing the point to reciprocatingly travel within the dart body and, when it is in the dart point outwardly extended position, to lock against the split sleeve so as to lock it in outward engagement. When the dart point hits a denominated dartboard region, it penetrates it; while, if the dartpoint hits a boundary wire surmounted on the dart board partitioning two denominated regions, the kinetic energy of the dart body causes the downstream end of the dart point to migrate into the cylindrical cavity defined by the dart body while applying a constant pressure, during this migration, on the dart point due to the momentum of the dart point against the wire, encouraging the point to travel over the wire and thus, to penetrate into a denominated region of the dartboard; this reducing "bounce-out".
In a similar fashion, when a dart is flung, it impacts a denominated region directly, the aforesaid action still eliminates "bounce-out" should the point tip be dull or otherwise damaged.
The primary object of the invention to accomplish the aforesaid with, simplicity, enhancing manufacturing efficiency, by way of the construction of a less expensive product which eliminates threads and the like or, other machining means, adapted to constrain the point in a forward position.
It is another object of the invention to allow or enable the reduction in diametrical size of the dart body or dart barrel saving dart weight and materials and achieving better flight characteristics.
It is a further object of the invention to move the center of gravity of the dart more forward than those of similar "bounce-resistant" darts and closer to the front of the dart barrel or body. This assists in better flight characteristics for the dart since the flights of the dart has a better chance to migrate the dart on its steady path of travel.
It is a further object of the invention to provide that the dart body defines a cylindrical recess and the dart point have its downstream end essentially cylindrical, adapted to frictionally travel, in a reciprocating fashion, within the cylindrical recess while allowing the dart point to have a taper, for penetration purposes, at its forward or upstream end into a dartboard. The cylindrical sizing of the downstream end of the dart point and of the cylindrical cavity is such that the cavity stabilizes the dart point in its radial directions so that the point is always, essentially, in the prolongation of the cylindrical axis of the body, i.e., the tip does not wobble.